Change Is Coming
John went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the Book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’” John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” - Luke 3
CHANGE IS COMING
John preached repentance. We don’t use the word repent in common speech much anymore; it has been relegated to religious settings. Instead we use the word change. As in, that person needs a change of heart. I like the word repent, but the word is not as important as what it means.
Spring is a time of change. New life comes from the ground and the old quickly disappears. Many of our churches are getting old. They don’t thrive the way they used to. What worked twenty or thirty years ago doesn’t work now. It was good then, but we need something new for now. If not, we might find we are not producing fruit for God and our only value is firewood. We need a springtime of repentance in our church. John called the people to change. They were religious people. They had kept the religion of Abraham and Moses and the prophets for hundreds of years. But it was time to repent. Time to change. Every now and then God calls His people to change…. and from what they have been doing for God. All too often religious people get stuck. We begin to believe our way of following God is as important, or maybe more important, than the God we follow. God calls us to change.
How can we make the way for God to come easily into our lives, and into the lives of others around us? What new thing is God leading us to? What things that we have been doing need to change? When I travel from Niagara Falls to Amherst, I can travel on the Boulevard, or take the thruway. We know which is faster even if one is more familiar. God wants us to build a super highway for His gospel. Take out the hills, straighten the curves, and make an easy way for God.
God has led me to believe that change is coming to our ministry, and not just some tweaking and adjusting. I am not sure what that all means right now, but I am listening for God’s voice to lead us where the fruit is plentiful and the way is easy. Let’s live on the right side of repentance. Some people hear the word change and worry, but if God is with us, we will find the way to blessing.
Each of us needs to examine our own lives as well, so that we are making a way for the Lord in our lives.
Pastor Tom